“Blaéz’s brother.”
Nora’s dark eyes cut sharply back to her. With a grim nod, she picked up Darci, and she cried out at the unbearable agony tearing through her leg.
“By the dark gods!” Nora quickly settled her on the bed as if she weighed nothing more than a leaf and then ran her palm lightly over Darci’s swollen ankle. “Hades, how did this happen?”
It took her several gulps to speak past the pain. “He shattered it so I couldn’t leave.”
“The asshole! He beats up females and thinks he’s all-powerful?” Her expression dark, Nora laid her hand over the damaged bones. Warmth flowed through Darci’s injured ankle.
“No—wait.” She grabbed her friend’s hand. “Later. Find Blaéz. Finnén will come for me first. At least Blaéz will be free.”
“Dars…” Nora winced. “Your pain cuts through me, and it’s unendurable.” Her lips tight, she continued with the healing.
Her heart thudding in fear, Darci inhaled deeply as the pain in her ankle dulled and faded, blessed relief finally taking over.
A moment later, Nora removed her hand and then she touched Darci’s sore lip. “There, good as new.”
Darci cautiously moved her leg, no shooting agony. Gingerly, she pushed to her feet, and it was as if her bones had never been broken. But, crap! She pressed a hand to her bruised ribs, her breath escaping in a rough pant. Ignoring the dull ache there, she hurried for the door.
“Is there anything I should know about this Finnén?” Nora asked, flanking her.
“He’s a law-keeper, so he probably has other abilities.” Darci stopped in the living room.
“He is?” Nora’s brow furrowed. “No matter, I’ll deal with this. But you should go outside, wait in the trees edging the property. The spell shielding this house doesn’t extend that far. And it’s safer since Finnén would come here looking for you.”
“No—” She shook her head in panic. “You don’t understand, Blaéz saweverythingFinnén did to me. I have to be there when we find him so he can see I’m all right.”
Sighing, Nora nodded.
“Can you sense him?”
“No…” Nora’s brow furrowed. “This entire level appears empty, no signs of life. He probably used a shielding spell inside, too…” She trotted off toward the kitchen, the slap of her steel-toed boots on marble echoing in the quiet, and opened a door between the pantry and the garage. Stairs led down into darkness.
“The basement,” Darci whispered.
“Yes. Stay behind me.” Nora took the stairway down.
Her heart in her mouth, Darci followed, musty air crowding her nose. As she stumbled into the dimly lit place, her gaze darted to the far side and her heart twisted in horror.
There, in the back, Blaéz sagged against the wall, head lowered. Then she saw the chains restraining him, his bloody wrists revealing how hard he must have fought to free himself.
“No—”She sprinted to him on her bare feet, barely able to breathe at the raw pain hammering inside her at seeing him like this again. It took her back to her childhood nightmares of Blaéz being restrained and whipped—a past that still haunted him.
“Oh, my love.” She stroked his stubbled jaw. “It’s me, I’m here now.” Her gaze dropped to the fetters and his gore-drenched hands…dear God!The skin was rubbed raw, the wounds still open, but they had stopped bleeding. Her jaw clamped down, fury sweeping through her. “I swear on all that’s holy, I will kill Finnén for hurting you.”
A groan escaped him. He lifted his head and blinked those beautiful cobalt blue eyes. “Darci?”
Overcome, she nodded, tears crowding her eyes, and she hugged him tightly, careful not to jar his injured wrists.
Nora touched the chains and cursed, “Darn it to Hade’s spawns, these cables are spelled.”
Right before Darci’s eyes, Blaéz’s features morphed into a cold, detached expression. One that scared all hell out of her as his focus latched on to Nora. “Maloch’s sibling.”
Her friend sighed and blew her green-streaked bangs away from her face. “Unfortunately.”
“She saved me,” Darci hurriedly explained. “I didn’t know what to do when I realized the truth and you weren’t responding to my mind-link, so I called her,” she ended on a whisper.
“May I?” Nora nodded at his wrists. “I think I can undo the invocation on those cuffs.”
